The Demographics of Gameloft
Most Gameloft games seem to focus on the hardcore gamer. What makes a hardcore gamer play a game on the phone?
At the very early stages of the mobile market, everyone in the mobile industry (carriers, game developers, publishers, etc.) needed to create credibility for gaming on the mobile phone. So it was only natural to bring the biggest and most recognizable video game franchises to the mobile space. And it was a success. Now the market, being a bit more educated, is ready to explore and provide gaming/entertaining experiences to a much broader audience. What makes hardcore gamers play mobile games is that they realize that you can get the same experience playing a mobile game as you would playing a console game at home. The quality, the right ergonomics and controls for the game can bring emotions and challenge the player's dexterity in a specific environment. The gamer needs to be challenged and rewarded at each step of the game. They need to feel involved in the game. There are hardcore gamers who are greatly surprised at feeling the same fun and emotions on the mobile version of, say for example Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, as they do on the PS2. That just goes to show how advanced mobile games have become. They give traditional gaming consoles a run for their money.
How do you see Gameloft providing for the casual games market?
Gameloft creates games that fit both of the gaming segments; hardcore and casual. For the casual gamers, we offer titles such as Block Breaker Deluxe, Chessmaster, Solitaire, 1000 Words and our newest strategy game, New York Nights: Success in the City. This game, to be released in early March 2005, is an example of a title that casual gamers will enjoy. It combines strategy with puzzle, which is what casual gaming is. As well, our 2005 lineup includes new strategy/puzzle games that will cater to the casual gamer. Another title, Midnight Pool (scheduled for an early March 2005 release), is also geared towards the casual gamer. The differentiating factor between this game and other titles is there are 3 game options: 8 ball (U.S.) or 9 ball/8 ball (U.K.). As well, the player is able to perform special shots such as bold shots, English shots and jump shots - a first for a pool game. Titles such as these, with added Gameloft touches to differentiate it from other games, contribute to our casual games catalog.
New York Nights: Success in the City seems to be geared towards a female audience. How do you see the market for women gamers influencing your products?
Women gamers account for a fair percentage of the mobile gaming audience. According to a recent survey by the Entertainment Software Association, women 18 and older make up over a quarter (26%) of the gaming market. They consume more of the strategy/puzzle games like Block Breaker Deluxe or New York Nights: Success in the City, rather than the action/adventure titles like Might and Magic or Prince of Persia: Warrior Within. Since women gamers are a growing segment of the gaming market, Gameloft has created such titles as our new strategy game, New York Nights: Success in the City which is directly targeted to female gamers between the ages of 12-25. We decided to include the under 18 year-olds because they are the early adopters. NY Nights is a social simulation game emulating urban life in NY city. The game allows you to customize your character, male or female, and then you have 40 days to find a job, make friends and of course find your soul mate. The strategic aspect of the game, such as finding out interest points and befriending the other characters, appeals strongly to our female audience.
Do you do any marketing research to provide your audience with the games they may be looking for?
We research the genre of games to address a very specific target. Once it is identified, we have dedicated teams specializing in different types of games and who are the best in the field are to produce, design and create the game. These teams will spend weeks and months researching the game. For example, for our 3D racing game Asphalt: Urban GT, our production team watched all of the racing movies such as The Fast and the Furious, test drove the Audi, Ferrari, Lamborghini and a few other models on an actual race track. They also spoke to the people who designed the cars to get an idea of the details involved in creating the car. From that information, they can recreate a racing game that is realistic as possible. We do this sort of extensive research for all of our games. The team defines where they want to go and work closely with the marketing team to make sure it is in line with the target's demand. We validate a lot of our production choices with focus groups at the different stages of the game development. We pay a lot of attention to each detail which make the game simply better; game design, graphics, IA, ergonomics, etc. And when porting onto different handsets, we resize every game to make it perfectly fit with each device. This is a rather big challenge, as it means doing the same game on about 120 to 150 phones worldwide.
How do you see the 3d games market and it's potential audience?
3D will be a key driver for the mobile gaming market. The impact of 3D in mobile gaming will be similar to that of 3D in the console space, it transformed how people played games and raised their expectations and standards. As a comparison, 2D would be a black and white TV while 3D is color. Once customers have experienced gaming in 3D, regardless of the platform, they have a very hard time going back to 2D games. Certain genres are simply much better in 3D. These genres include racing, first person shooters and sports. For example, Asphalt: Urban GT first came out in a 2D format. We just released the 3D version on Verizon's VCAST service which allows for optimal gameplay with enhanced 3D graphics and sounds. Even casual games such as bowling are considerably improved with 3D. The adoption of higher end handsets will obviously accelerate the deployment of 3D games, so the sooner carriers start deploying 3G networks, such as Verizon Wireless' EVDO network, the sooner customers will adopt these higher end handsets that make 3D gaming possible. As well, 3D will bring more of the "hardcore" gamers to the mobile gaming space.
Can you give me an idea of what you see as the age group of mobile gamers and where they live?
Globally, mobile gamers are between the ages of 15-35. Gameloft users are between 15-30 years of age. Most, if not all of them, live in cities and are technologically savvy.
What type of gamers can we expect to see moving towards the mobile market?
There are 2 types of people who game: the ones who are very well equipped with a home console or a handheld and come from the video game world; in other words, hardcore gamers. Gameloft has a very strong reputation with these players since they associate us with quality content and superior games. We also pay a lot of attention to every mobile platform in order to perfectly adapt and port the console game and deliver a similar gaming experience for the mobile version. Our upcoming release, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory, is greatly anticipated by consumers and journalists since they know a Gameloft game has never been disappointing. The second type of gamer is the casual gamer. To address our casual gaming market, we have produced upcoming titles like King Kong which is a mobile adaptation of Peter Jackson's upcoming blockbuster remake of King Kong the movie. New York Nights: Success in the City will also appeal to a female audience. Of course we also target male casual gamers with games such as Sexy Poker.
Who exactly plays the games you make, publish, or distribute?
We develop, publish and distribute our games ourselves. We have a wide distribution network which is beneficial in getting our games out there to a wide audience. The differentiating factor that separates mobile gaming from traditional console games or PC games is that ANYONE can play. You do not need to buy the hardware gaming console. Also, you travel everywhere with your phone, so it becomes indispensable and the games are always available.